Review: Call of Duty WWII

The newest installment in the Call of Duty series, “WWII,” was released on Nov. 3. The game has its pros and cons while some gameplay types definitely outshine others.

CAMPAIGN

The campaign follows Pfc. Ronald “Red” Daniels, member of the U.S. Army, who is fighting with the 1st Infantry Division in World War II. The campaign begins with the invasion of Normandy in 1944 where Daniels and his platoon: Zussman, Stiles, Aiello, Pierson and Turner work together to stay alive and win the war.

Throughout the campaign, you’re introduced to new enemies, new allies and a few pretty neat missions where you shoot down planes, shoot at trains, blow up tanks and even perform an undercover mission.

However, aside from those few missions or side-missions where you get to branch away from the typical “shoot the Germans” mentality, it’s very repetitive. I guess after 14 games, though, you tend to go back to the same old, same old.

A new feature in the game (that becomes increasingly frustrating as you keep forgetting) is the health regeneration system, or rather, lack thereof. In previous Call of Duty games, you would merely hide behind a rock and regenerate your health on your own. In this game, you need to use first aid kits (which you don’t have an unlimited supply of) to replenish (normally only halfway) your health. While this isn’t a terrible idea, it’s easy to forget to use them, especially since the warning message pops up near the very top of the screen, out of sight from the rest of the gameplay.

Almost every person in the platoon has something to offer you after a given period of time: Zussman will give first aid kits, Aiello will give you signal smoke to call in mortar strikes, Pierson will outline the enemies and make it easier for you to see them, Stiles will give you grenades and Turner will give you ammo. These perks come in handy when you’re elbows-deep in fighting the Germans.

The movie segments in between the missions are far too long. They were full of drama and intensity, but they easily could have been cut down at least two or three minutes from the seven or eight minute runtimes.

Overall, the campaign has a few upsides, but mainly, it’s just another first-person shooter that doesn’t necessarily stand out from the rest of the series.

MULTIPLAYER

The multiplayer gameplay is pretty much completely redone. Instead of classes, players choose one of five divisions: infantry, airborne, armored, mountain or expeditionary. Each division includes special skills and players are able to rank up through the divisions and eventually prestige.

In addition to the divisions, the “lobby,” per se, is much different. Instead of having you sit in a lobby and make your decision about which game mode you’d like to play, this game has a headquarters mode. In the headquarters, you can practice shooting at the firing range, receive orders from the major, talk to the quartermaster, receive your mail, practice in 1v1 fights and test scorestreaks. Overall, the headquarters is a major improvement to the boring lobbies of the past.

The maps in multiplayer game modes are fairly vast, which leaves a lot of room for exploration and finding secrets in the layouts. However, it’s also very hard to find others to increase your kill-death ratio. No maps will ever compare to the “Modern Warfare 2” maps for me, but that’s neither here nor there.

The final thing I’ll say about multiplayer is the killcam that normally plays the final death at the conclusion of matches is replaced with the “Bronze Star.” This showcases the “most impressive” kill of the game.

NAZI ZOMBIES

To be perfectly honest, I’ve only played two or three games of “Zombies,” and that was because the first weekend the game was released, the multiplayer servers were overcrowded and didn’t work. I do know that zombies has come a long way since it was first introduced in “World at War.” Whereas in that game, you were stuck in a small bunker and had to replace the boards the zombies kept ripping down before they continued to sneak in, “WWII” has you in a far larger map.

You’re able to explore more of the map, and it makes it subsequently easier to play since you’re able to run farther away from the zombies. There are a lot of options as you rank up where you can unlock in the map, which makes it both interesting and time-consuming. Some of the zombies in this game seem to be more violent than the ones before and mostly come out of nowhere. Also, you can’t patch up the holes in the windows where they came from, leaving you to endlessly be chased by crazy, skeletal zombies.

OVERALL

Overall, the game is a little above average in the series. New features like the headquarters and expansive zombie maps make up for the shortcomings, such as the long plot lines or mediocre missions. If you’re going to buy the game for anything, it’ll probably be the fruitful multiplayer because the new changes really set a precedent for how the rest of the games will be made in the future.

EU Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs sent an email to university students, faculty and staff outlining the “Path Forward” for the university, specifically in regard to degree programs shifting and transitioning.

EU Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs sent an email to university students, faculty and staff outlining the “Path Forward” for the university, specifically in regard to degree programs shifting and transitioning.